Decision time nears for BC Mile winner Expert Eye

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Expert Eye’s best race might have been his last race.

After winning the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile on Saturday, his first Group or Grade 1 win, Expert Eye was scheduled to fly back to England on Monday. No decision has been made regarding his future, but Expert Eye could be retired to stud by owner-breeder Khalid Abdullah.

“We’ll get him back home, and he can obviously come back to the farm and stand as a stallion, or he can stay in training,” said Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager for Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms. “Prince Khalid is going to have to think about that. We’ll have to make a decision relatively quickly.”

Expert Eye got a 101 Beyer Speed Figure, the lowest in the race's history, for running one mile on tiring turf in 1:39.80, the second-slowest Mile time in the race’s history. Expert Eye gave his stallion prospects a huge boost by winning Saturday. Before the Mile, his best win had come in the Group 2 Vintage Stakes as a 2-year-old, and though trainer Michael Stoute always had held the colt in high regard, it took until Saturday for his ability to fully express itself on the track.

Expert Eye, who raced on Lasix, is by the English-bred Acclamation and out of Exemplify, and is from the family of Juddmonte stars Sightseek and Tates Creek.

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